


(un)fortunate

by depugnare



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Captain Flint/Thomas Hamilton/John Silver (IMPLIED), Humor, M/M, Madi/John Silver (mentioned) - Freeform, Post-Series, like this is the thomas silver comedy hour that I've always wanted, which means there was aggressive dicksucking at some point in the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-22 19:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13771167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/depugnare/pseuds/depugnare
Summary: “Is he always this much of an asshole?” Silver asks.“Only when I’m around pirates,” Thomas answers with a smirk. “I’ve always been adept at blending in with those around me.”“Oh I like him,” Silver says, turning to James. “You didn’t tell me he had a personality.”





	(un)fortunate

“I knew it was a bad idea to take a French ship.”

 

“James, it was the first one out of there. What else were we supposed to do?”

 

“Get on one that isn’t crawling with pirates!”

 

Thomas glared down at him as James barred the door to the tiny storeroom he’d shoved them into a few seconds ago.

 

“It’s not like you can sniff them out James!”

 

“I should be able to! I knew that first mate had too many earrings to be a merchant sailor.”

 

“You just didn’t like him because he kept offering to show me the hold.”

 

James glares at him and Thomas smirks, triumphant. He doesn’t jump when there’s the sound of swords clashing above them, legitimate members of the crew fighting the infiltrators.

 

“Yeah, probably to slit your throat and steal your purse,” James snaps, pulling a knife from his boot and tossing the pistol at his hip to Thomas.

 

“Here, you’re the better shot. Aim for the head.”

 

“Some vacation this turned out to be,” Thomas mutters, moving to stand beside the door as James pulls a longer knife out of his trousers. “Where were you hiding that?!”

 

“Up my ass, where do you think!” James says. “You bought me the sheath for my birthday.”

 

“Did I? Apparently I should have bought a huge-”

 

“Thomas, shut up!” James barks as the sound of fighting grows closer.

 

Thomas goes to reply, mouth curled in outrage, but the door shakes as someone throws themself against it and James brandishes his blades with a snarl. The door shakes again and Thomas cocks the pistol, taking aim.

 

“Come out without a fight and we’ll let you live!” a voice calls, and James raises his eyebrows. The person doesn’t sound much older than a teenager. 

 

It’s a reminder that he’s old and all the pirates he knew would be retired or dead by now most likely. He is the last of a dying breed.

 

“It sounds like the fucking cabin boy,” James hisses and Thomas raises his eyebrows.

“Jamie? A shame, he rather reminded me of you.”

 

“Do you know the name of every person on this ship?”

 

“It’s called being polite James.”

 

The door rattles and then bursts open and Thomas fires without hesitation, hitting the man that comes through the door in the chest. He drops to the floor, and James whips the long knife around so quickly that then next person through the door is forced to stop.

 

“Gentlemen,” says the boy, raising his hands. “Please lower your weapons. My sister shall be rather cross if she finds a knife at my throat.”

 

“Your sister?”

 

“The captain of our crew,” Jamie says, smirking. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind-”

 

James doesn’t lower his blade and waves Thomas over to stand behind him. He and the boy face off, and the ugly look that crosses the boy’s face after a moment belongs to a much older man.

 

“If you don’t surrender I’ll have to kill you.”

 

“Try it,” James hisses, pressing his blade harder against his throat. “I’ve fought worse than you. Before you were even a passing thought in your parents’ minds.”

 

“A carpenter fighting pirates? I doubt it. Shoot the tall one.”

 

The man behind Jamie raises his pistol and James’ other knife sinks into his throat in the blink of an eye. There’s a moment of shocked silence as the man falls, blood gurgling in his throat, before he thumps to the floor, dead. 

 

“Interesting,” says Jamie. He turns to the other men, uncaring about the blade at his throat, and waves his hand. “Go fetch the captain.”

 

The nonchalance makes James seethe. Who the fuck does this kid think he is?

 

“I feel terrible about this,” the boy says, hand snapping out to slice James’ forearm with a blade he must have had up his sleeve. “But you see, you picked such a slow and easy ship to passenger on and that was poor judgement on your part.”

 

Thomas raises his pistol again but Jamie tsks, pointing his knife at James’ throat.

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

 

“James!” barks a new voice and they all turn to see a woman  walking through the men, head held high as all leaders do. “You’re not supposed to torment them. Just tie them up and bring them up on the deck.”

 

“Aye captain,” he says, snapping a sloppy salute and the woman rolls her eyes, startling blue against her skin.

 

“Just hurry up. I want to get off this stinking ship.”

 

Thomas considers struggling for a moment, but the blade at James’ throat makes him still and hold out his hands.   
  
“Thomas!” James squawks and Thomas looks over at him with a sigh.

 

“James, just hold your hands out. They’re obviously not here to kill us, just let them.”   
  
James struggles for another few moments, clearly conflicted, but quiets once Thomas’ wrists are bound with rope. He holds up his own hands for binding and soon enough they’re being ushered up the stairs and onto the deck.

 

He’s outraged to see that half the crew and even some of the other passengers are standing free, clearly pirates.

 

“We should never have taken a French ship,” he hisses at Thomas, who glares at him.

 

“It was your idea!”

 

“If you two would be quiet please?” Jamie says, shoving them both against the side of the ship. Thomas nearly topples over the railing, but James manages to catch him with his bound arms.

 

“Watch it!” he snarls at the boy. “You hurt him and I’ll show you what pirating truly looks like!”

 

“There you go again talking about pirates as if a carpenter would know something about that,  _ Mr. McGraw _ ,” he says, eyes twinkling. “From what you’ve told me, you don’t know a thing about sailing.”

 

Thomas snorts and James elbows him. Jamie turns to Thomas.

 

“And frankly your calm with all of this is more disturbing than anything.”

 

“I’ve seen worse,” Thomas says simply, staring down at the lad. He really can’t be more than fifteen, Thomas is so embarrassed.

 

“I see,” he says, making a face. “Well then, Mr….McGraw as well was it?”

 

“We’re cousins,” James says, face blank. Jamie raises an eyebrow.

 

“Right....perhaps you could talk your cousin into behaving himself, eh Thomas?”

 

“I’ll try,” he says, tugging James down to sit next to him. Their knees creak in protest simultaneously and James curls his lip.

 

“When I get my hands on that little shit-”

 

“Captain!” a voice cries out from the rigging. “Sails!”

 

The woman from before holds out her hand and one of her crew hands her a spyglass that she raises to look to the horizon.

 

“Shit!” she barks out, which startles her crewmembers. She turns towards Jamie, who scurries over and takes the spyglass from her.

 

“Please tell me that isn’t our father’s ship,” she groans.

 

“It’s our father’s ship. Black already raised and everything.”

 

Half the crew looks like they’re about to faint and James doesn’t want to know what idiot of a pirate spawned and then let his spawn wreak havoc. Pirate children only ever became threats to a captaincy, because usually their father was a bastard that deserved to be usurped by his children. He could only imagine what kind of shit stirrer would raise two children clever enough to fool seasoned sailors for this long.

 

“How does he always know where we are?” the captain groans, pulling at her braids in frustration.

 

“I don’t know Amelie, perhaps he’s found himself a witch like Captain Flint had.”

 

“Please, he’s never so much as  _ looked _ at any woman besides mama.”

 

“I didn’t say he fucked a witch, I said he found one. Perhaps she likes ladies.”

 

Thomas looks over at James and raises his eyebrows.

 

“A witch? My, my what did you and Miranda get up to James?”

 

“Shut up,” he mutters, even as he leans against Thomas while keeping an eye on the squabbling siblings. Notices that their whole crew looks positively green at the sight of the approaching ship, but they couldn’t care less.

 

“Captain,” says a frankly enormous man who must be the bosun, “Should we try to outrun her?”

 

“Benjamin, you’re the smartest person on this ship, what do you think?” she says, hands on her hips.

 

“It’s just your father…..”   
  
“It’s not my father that’s the issue it’s my mother,” she says, and even her brother looks green at that. 

 

“Right. Best we all prepare for our deaths then.”

 

“Children,” James says, looking at their crew and seeing there’s not a person over twenty-five. “They’re a bunch of children.”

 

Thomas is quiet as the other ship draws closer, and the merchant ship they’re on looks like a floating rock compared to how neatly the sloop o’ war slides up next to them. Grappling hooks come across and the familiar sensation of two ships being drawn together makes James tense, and he backs Thomas away from the side of the ship being boarded.

 

“Don’t make a sound,” he tells him and Thomas nods, compliant for once. The other crew comes over the rail and they’re men who look the sort that would have sailed on the Walrus back in the day.

 

Better at fighting than most crews and ruthless enough to sail beneath a captain who didn’t care about collateral damage.

 

“Captain,” they all say to the young woman. 

 

“Prince,” they say to her brother.

 

They’re said in a tone of voice that’s more suited for misbehaved children than fellow pirates and it clashes with the scars and tattoos the men have.

 

“Captain’s over the rail!” hollers one of the riggers from the other ship and a man with a mane of curly black hair makes his way over on a plank that’s wider than most.

 

James nearly collapses when he sees the crutch, and would have fallen to the deck if it weren’t for Thomas holding him up.

 

“James?” he whispers, a panicked look on his face. “Are you hurt? Did they manage to get you with their blade?”

 

James shakes his head, staring at the man.

 

“Do you have any idea how many resources I’ve wasted chasing after you two?!” the captain of the other ship bellows at the siblings in front of him. They cow their heads and James could join them.

 

“You’ve taken villagers needed for the harvest, money, supplies, and not least of all, put the heirs to the throne in danger!” he continues, glaring at both of them. “Not to mention that you didn’t tell your mother where you’d gone, not even a note, and I come home from a month at sea to her nearly hysterical and going on about how you both disappeared in the middle of the night.”

 

His voice is razor sharp, but quiet, and every member of the siblings’ crew is looking like they’re desperate to not be noticed lest he turn his wrath on them. It’s like looking at ghost.

 

“Papa-” the captain starts and her father’s glare silences her.

 

“You have put yourself, your brother, and your crew in danger for what? A bit of fun?”

 

“I stole the map,” Jamie pipes up and both his sister and father turn to look at him. Silence reigns over the ship for a long moment.

 

“You  _ what _ ,” his father snarls.

 

“I stole Captain Flint’s map. I thought if we found the cache-”

 

The man looks as if he’s about to explode and that’s when Thomas leans James against he railing and starts walking over.

 

“Thomas!” he hisses. “Thomas come back!”

 

Thomas ignores him and walks right up to the small family and holds out his bound hand to the captain.

 

“John Silver I presume?” he says and the captain glances at him while he’s yelling at his son and ignores him for a moment, and then he does a double take and realizes it’s not a member of his children’s crew.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“John Silver. That’s you right?”

 

“Who wants to know?” he asks staring up at him. 

 

Thomas looks down his nose at him with practice indifference, a nobleman’s apathy for the authority of others.

 

“Thomas Hamilton. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

 

He blinks at the blade drawn on him and he and James would be having a conversation about that later, but it sends James snarling across the deck without a second thought. He burnt Charles Town down with his hands bound, he’ll do it to this ship too.

 

“I am not a man to lie to,” Silver says, tip of his blade under Thomas’ jaw. James freezes, hidden from his sight behind Thomas’ broad back.

 

“I’m not lying. My name is Thomas Hamilton.” He squints down at him. “I must say, you’re shorter than I imagined you would be.”

 

Silver’s sword arm trembles, and it’s not from exertion.

 

“If you’re here then-”

 

He leans to look around Thomas and James feels like he’s been shot when his gaze falls to him. 

 

“Flint.”

 

Silver’s two children pop up behind his shoulders to stare at him. Jesus Christ, Silver has  _ children _ .

 

“Captain Flint?” his son asks. “The Captain Flint? The one you were in lo-”

 

“James,” Silver hisses without turning around. “Another word and I’ll tell your mother what really happened to her ceremonial necklace.”

 

His son is sufficiently cowed and his daughter presses a hand against her mouth to hide her laughter.

 

“James,” Thomas says, and he can hear the shit eating grin in his voice. “A personal choice?”

 

“My wife named him,” Silver grunts. He walks past Thomas, crutch thumping across the deck, and James finds himself backing away. 

 

“Don’t,” he pleads softly. Silver stops and James can’t help but run his eyes over him.

 

He looks older. Skin weathered and crows feet at the corner of his eyes. Hints of grey at his temples. His eyes are the same, sharp and blue. His hair still a wild nest of raven colored curls. There’s scars on his face, his hands, and James bets if he took off his shirt he’d have them up his arms and across his chest too.

 

He looks like a pirate captain.

 

“You look well,” Silver manages, eyes roving over James’ face, his hair. He feels hot under the gaze, like his blood is on fire. 

 

“I am well.”

 

“Leave us,” Silver says, and both crews scurry to find something to do.

 

What goods were aboard this ship are confiscated and taken across to the other ship and those of the merchantmen who were legitimate sailors are asked if any of them wish to come aboard and be put on the account. Thomas doesn’t move, sharp blue eyes studying Silver.

 

“Amelie,” Silver says, turning to his daughter. “Take your brother aboard the  _ Dragon _ . You are to wait in my cabin until I come back.”

 

“I’m not a child-”

 

“You are my child!” he thunders. “And most importantly, you have behaved like one. So please, go wait on the ship and I will deal with you and your brother later.”

 

She looks furious, but grabs her brother and swings across to the other ship like one raised at sea.

 

“She reminds me of Madi,” James says and Silver gives him a soft smile.

 

“Yes, she can be like her sometimes. Unfortunately, she’s very much like me most of the time. It’s her brother who’s more like Madi believe it or not.”

 

Silver reaches forward then and James takes another step back.

 

“I only want to untie your hands,” Silver says softly. 

 

James feels raw, like his skin is peeling back from his bones. He’s pictured this meeting a thousand times and never has Silver been so gentle. Hadn’t thought it possible.

 

“Perhaps we should not have this moment out in the open,” Thomas says and they both startle, looking over at him.

 

James could kiss him for how patient and calm he is sometimes.

 

“I would also like to have my hands untied, I’m not so familiar with you as to enjoy this.”

 

James could strangle him.

 

“You’re mouthy, for a lord,” Silver says, sawing through the ropes around Thomas’ wrists. The scars there give him pause, but then he’s looking back up at Thomas with a mischievous look.

 

“Don’t,” James sighs, but it’s too late.

 

“Do you enjoy being bound,  _ my lord _ ?” Silver says, voice dripping with condescension. 

 

“Call me that again and I’ll wring your neck.”

 

“You could try, but I doubt your freakish limbs could move that fast.”

 

Thomas turns to James. “He’s delightful, you never said how delightful he was.”

 

“He’s not,” he retorts, glaring. “Don’t encourage him, you’ll only rile yourself up and have a fit.”

 

Thomas frowns and turns to Silver.

 

“I’d very much like to see your ship if you don’t mind. We’re supposed to be on vacation you see, only this one picked the sorriest ship he could find to take us down to the Carolinas for the warmer weather-”

 

“I picked the cheapest one, because if it were up to you we’d travel like we still have money instead of living on your salary and whatever I can coax to grow from our shitty plot of land.”

 

“Don’t say that James, the potatoes will hear you and rot again.”

 

Silver clears his throat and they both turn to look at him. He jerks a thumb towards his ship.

 

“I’m headed south to bring those two home. I could...give you passage. For a price of course.”

 

“Of course,” James says, crossing his arms. “How about you give us free passage and I won’t gut you with your own knife.”

 

“You’re far too old for that Captain,” Silver says with a grin. “How about a long overdue conversation instead?”

 

His expression is fragile, much like it was on Skeleton Island twenty years ago. James can relate. He feels as though his ribs will shatter with the next beat of his heart. He reaches out and takes Silver’s free hand in his own, rubs his thumb gently over his knuckles.

 

“I’d like that very much.”

 

“Good!” Thomas says, clapping his hands together. “I’ve had quite enough excitement for the day. Tell me Mr. Silver, do I have to worry about you leaving James emotionally ruined again or can I take a nap on your fine vessel?”

 

“Is he always this much of an asshole?” Silver asks.

 

“Only when I’m around pirates,” Thomas answers with a smirk. “I’ve always been adept at blending in with those around me.”

 

“Oh I like him,” Silver says, turning to James. “You didn’t tell me he had a personality.”

 

James groans. He should have known the moment he set foot on a French vessel that their journey was fucked.

 

“James,” Thomas says softly, and he turns to look at him. “You’re still holding Mr. Silver’s hand.”

 

He looks down and finds Silver’s fingers laced with his own. His palm was warm and rough against his, the metal of his rings cool against his skin.

 

“It would appear so.”

 

“Well then, I think we very much would like to take you up on your offer Mr. Silver.”

 

“Please, Captain is fine. Or John.”

 

“Captain,” Thomas practically purrs and Flint can feel Silver’s fingers twitch against his. Sees him blush in the way that he used to when Madi would lean over in a meeting and whisper in his ear.

 

Perhaps their journey wasn’t  _ entirely  _ fucked.

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
